FAIRHAVEN — If you're looking for an effective way to keep warm this weekend, some hay and a good deer hide or two will do the trick.

Those tools are unnecessary, of course, if you're spending your days in the 21st century, with modern convenience and heated homes. But for the 15-20 members of the Fairhaven Village Militia, hay and deer hides, to say nothing of wool blankets, are going to be hot commodities for the troop's first-ever winter encampment.

The militia spends one weekend each spring and fall camping outdoors and living life as it was in the 1770s. At the encampments, period clothes are the norm, as are sleeping in white canvas tents, military drilling and musket ball-making. Warm-weather encampments are generally worry-free, said militia-member Christopher Richard, with the exception of making sure meat is kept cool enough to eat, something that shouldn't be a problem in this weekend's forecast 30-degree temperatures.

This time around, keeping warm is a task that will require a whole new set of skills, and the occasional deer hide.

"When we cook in the summer, it's just for show. This weekend, we're going to need the fires and the stew to actually keep us warm," explained militia commander Ellsworth Sylvaria, Jr. "We also usually have hay to pad the ground where we sleep. This time we're going to have to use it to prevent drafts. A good deer hide also helps absorb the moisture and keep you warm."

Militia member Wayne Oliveira said that in addition to wearing wool stockings under his britches, which otherwise leave the calves and shins exposed to the elements, he will wear a woolen cloak. "Just like today's clothing, you have different levels of warmth," he said. "This is like a long overcoat that wraps around your body. It's probably warmer than any of the inexpensive winter coats you see people wearing today."

Richard said he expects some members might sneak some "period-incorrect long underwear" under their colonial garb to stay warm. To help stave off the cold, the militia opted to hold this encampment, which began Friday night and ends Sunday morning, next to the Academy Building on Route 6, instead of at the coastal Fort Phoenix. This way, the revolutionaries can step into the building to warm up or use the bathrooms. Oliveira said that though the cold weather and snow-covered grass may make this encampment "challenging," it will help "make the point of some of the difficulties that real patriots had in the wintertime."

"We talk a lot about the struggle of the war, but it's also about trying to make it through the elements and make it through the night so you can survive to get to the battle," he said.

Sylvaria, who is a descendent of revolutionary Bartholomew West, whose Fairhaven home was burned by the British in 1778, said he wasn't worried about the cold this weekend because he frequently partakes in outdoor activities during the winter, like the Polar Bear Plunge.

"Yes, it requires dedication and adopting a whole new lifestyle. But, most people are cooped up in the house watching TV during the winter," he said. "You shouldn't knock this until you try it."